Yesterday morning Eric Mangini wasn’t making any promises about Calvin Pace, not saying whether his linebacker’s ailing foot would allow him to play tomorrow.

“I’m not sure,” the head coach said. “We have to see today.”

Mangini might have been acting non-committal purposely, to simply not reveal much about the status of one his guys. If there were true concerns in the Jets organization about Pace, the linebacker downplayed them.

Pace, who’s having a fine debut season in New York so far, revealed that he jammed one of his toes but should be okay for tomorrow’s game against the Raiders.

Mangini had said the team would have a better idea of Pace’s situation following yesterday’s practice, and the 6-foot-4 270-pounder was practicing on the field at one point. But Pace wasn’t always on the field, and he later said he participated in about half of the practice work.

How much of a problem is his toe? Pace revealed he does feel pain, but he also dismissed it as being a significant concern.

“It’s a little stiff. It’s one of those things, man,” he said yesterday. “Kind of stayed off it a little bit today. Just gave it a little rest. I’ll be fine.”

Pace declined to say which foot was hurting. After practice, he appeared to be limping a little bit, favoring his left foot.

Pace presumably won’t be at full strength for tomorrow’s game in Oakland, and if he’s limited on the field at all, it could mean more time for either Marques Murrell, Vernon Gholston or both. Murrell, who has one tackle this season, is listed on the depth chart as Pace’s backup, while Gholston is listed as the backup for starting linebacker Bryan Thomas. Gholston, the Jets’ first-round pick this year, has five tackles.

Still, Pace – who said he didn’t have any tests on the toe – was adamant that it shouldn’t even be classified as a real injury.

“I don’t even want to call it an injury,” he said. “Boo boo.”

This offseason, the 27-year-old Pace left the Cardinals to sign a six-year, $42 million deal with the Jets. Pace has 25 tackles and 3.5 sacks in five games, and also forced two fumbles and recovered two fumbles.